Nash hundred puts Sussex in command

Sussex strengthened their grip on a second-place finish in LV= County Championship Division One after dominating the second day against Somerset at the PROBIZ County Ground.

The hosts took nine wickets either side of lunch as Somerset were dismissed for 134 before reinforcing their position thanks to an unbeaten 106 from Chris Nash.

Nash’s innings, plus veteran Murray Goodwin’s 51 not out in his last match at Hove, guided Sussex to 186 for two and a commanding lead of 273.

Having been bowled out for an under-par 221, Sussex needed early wickets but there was little hint of what was to come as Somerset skipper Marcus Trescothick and Chris Jones took their second-wicket stand to 62.

Trescothick drove Steve Magoffin to the boundary to pass 20,000 first-class runs but, three balls later, was leg before to trigger a slide which saw nine wickets go down for 66 runs in 24 overs - several of them to rash shots.

Opening batsman Chris Nash en route to an unbeaten 106 at stumps when Sussex led Somerset by 273 runs with eight wickets remaining

Magoffin picked up Jones in his next over to claim his 50th championship wicket of the season and there were three wickets apiece for Monty Panesar and Lewis Hatchett as well.

James Hildreth shovelled a short ball from Panesar to midwicket and Steve Snell picked out mid-off.

Panesar’s third wicket came when Nash took a superbly-judged catch on the midwicket boundary to end a brief cameo from Peter Trego, who earlier struck Magoffin for four successive boundaries.

Hatchett, in his first championship game of the season, benefited from further poor shot selection to wrap up the innings.

Alfonso Thomas posted a four-ball duck when he edged to slip, Sajid Mahmood lost his off stump before Andrew Barrow was last out after nearly an hour and a half of defiance.

Hatchett finished with 3-25 and Panesar had 3-15 when Abdur Rehman slapped a wide ball straight to point.

Sussex went in again with a useful lead of 87, but lost Ed Joyce to Steve Kirby the ball after he had been dropped at slip and Luke Wells, who chased width from Thomas, in adding a further 47.

Neither Nash nor Goodwin offered a semblance of a chance and both reached their landmarks in the same over.

Goodwin collected a single to lodge only his second half-century of the season before Nash, who was stranded on 99 for nine balls, straight-drove Trego for his 17th boundary to move to his third century of the summer.